Ajcongress Fund to Aid Families of Istanbul Victims

September 11, 1986

NEW YORK (Sep. 10)

The American Jewish Congress announced Wednesday the establishment of a fund to assist the families of the victims of the Neve Shalom Synagogue massacre in Istanbul last Saturday and help rehabilitate the damaged synagogue.

Henry Siegman, executive director of the AJCongress, who attended the mass funeral service in Istanbul Wednesday as representative of both the AJC Congress and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, announced from Turkey that the new American Jewish Congress Istanbul Fund has been set up with an initial gift of $18,000 from an anonymous donor.

“We have no doubt that the Turkish community has the will and resources to take care of victims of the massacre and to rebuild the synagogue without outside help,” he said. “But the establishment of this fund is an expression of solidarity with the Turkish Jewish community. It is also a message of defiance of Arab-sponsored savagery. We will continue to pray in our synagogues and we will continue in our steadfast support of the State of Israel.”